Ron Collier, (July 3, 1930 – October 22, 2003) was a Canadian

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

trombonist, composer, and arranger. He performed in and led a number of jazz groups, and created orchestrations for and recorded with

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was ba ...

Early life and education

A native of

Coleman, Alberta Coleman is a community in the Rocky Mountains within the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass in southwest Alberta, Canada. It was formerly incorporated as a town prior to 1979 when it amalgamated with four other municipalities to form Crowsnest Pass. ...

, Collier began his musical training in Vancouver. He was a member of the Kitsilano Boys' Band. He studied music privately in Toronto with

Gordon Delamont Gordon Arthur Delamont (27 October 1918 – 16 January 1981) was a Canadian music educator, author, composer, and trumpeter. He is best remembered for his work as an educator, having helped shape the talents of dozens of notable musicians in Toro ...

."Ron Collier"
''AllMusic'', Biography by Eugene Chadbourne The first jazz musician to receive a Canada Council grant, he studied orchestration in New York in 1961 and 1962.

Career

Collier formed the Ron Collier Jazz Quartet, which performed in the 1950s at the Stratford Festival and on CBC's ''Tabloid'' with

Portia White Portia May White (June 24, 1911February 13, 1968) was a Canadian contralto, known for becoming the first Black Canadian concert singer to achieve international fame. Growing up as part of her father's church choir in Halifax, Nova Scotia, White ...

, and in 1963 with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

performed with the Ron Collier Orchestra on the 1969 album ''

North of the Border in Canada ''North of the Border in Canada'' (also released as ''Collages'') is an album by the Ron Collier Orchestra performing music by Canadian composers, with American pianist Duke Ellington as the featured soloist, which was recorded in Toronto in 1967 ...

''. The album included compositions by several Canadian composers, including Collier. Collier created orchestrations for a number of Ellington's concerts and recordings. Collier composed the scores to the films ''

Face-Off A face-off is the method used to begin and restart play after goals in some sports using sticks, primarily ice hockey, bandy, floorball, broomball, rinkball, and lacrosse. During a face-off, two teams line up in opposition to each other, and t ...

'' (1971), '' A Fan's Notes'' (1972), and '' Paperback Hero'' (1973). In the 1970s Collier began directing a student orchestra at Toronto's

Humber College The Humber College Institute of Technology & Advanced Learning, commonly known as Humber College, is a public College of Applied Arts and Technology in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1967, Humber has two main campuses: the Humber North c ...

. His band won the big Band Open Class at the Canadian Stage Band Festival in 1982 . In 2003, he was made an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the c ...

. He died in October that year in Toronto.

References

External links

Archival papers and manuscripts
a
University of Toronto Music Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Collier, Ron 1930 births 2003 deaths Musicians from Vancouver Canadian male composers Officers of the Order of Canada Canadian jazz trombonists 20th-century Canadian composers 20th-century trombonists 20th-century Canadian male musicians Canadian male jazz musicians